Phys.org: Soft Matter Newshttp://phys.org/physics-news/soft-matter/
en-usPhys.org provides the latest news on soft matter, soft condensed matter, liquids, colloids, polymers, foams, gels, granular materialsMathematicians model fluids at the mesoscaleWhen it comes to boiling water—or the phenomenon of applying heat to a liquid until it transitions to a gas—is there anything left for today's scientists to study? The surprising answer is, yes, quite a bit. How the bubbles form at a surface, how they rise up and join together, what are the surface properties, what happens if the temperature increases slowly versus quickly—while these components might be understood experimentally, the mathematical models for the process of boiling are incomplete.http://phys.org/news344850769.html
Physics - Soft MatterFri, 06 Mar 2015 07:53:09 EDTnews344850769Researchers find viscoelastic fluids form wings when shot out of a jet at close range(Phys.org) —A trio of researches with Université Paris Diderot has found that viscoelastic fluids spontaneously form wings which in turn cause the formation of geometric shapes when the fluid is shot out of a jet at high speed. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, Henri Lhuissier, Baptiste Néel and Laurent Limat describe the attributes of the fluids as they were tested and observed in their lab.http://phys.org/news334834723.html
Physics - Soft MatterMon, 10 Nov 2014 10:10:01 EDTnews334834723Laser-guided sea monkeys show how zooplankton migrations may affect global ocean currentsSea monkeys have captured the popular attention of both children and aquarium hobbyists because of their easily observable life cycle—sold as dehydrated eggs, these tiny brine shrimp readily hatch, develop and mate given little more than a tank of salt water.http://phys.org/news331285407.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 30 Sep 2014 11:00:01 EDTnews331285407Researchers discover a way for temperature gradients in fluids to move objectsResearchers at MIT have discovered a new way of harnessing temperature gradients in fluids to propel objects. In the natural world, the mechanism may influence the motion of icebergs floating on the sea and rocks moving through subterranean magma chambers.http://phys.org/news319876320.html
Physics - Soft MatterWed, 21 May 2014 08:00:01 EDTnews319876320New super waterproof surfaces cause water to bounce like a ball(Phys.org) —In a basement lab on BYU's campus, mechanical engineering professor Julie Crockett analyzes water as it bounces like a ball and rolls down a ramp.http://phys.org/news319809119.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 20 May 2014 12:52:17 EDTnews319809119The physics of ocean undertow: Small forces make a big difference in beach erosionPeople standing on a beach often feel the water tugging the sand away from under their feet. This is the undertow, the current that pulls water back into the ocean after a wave breaks on the beach.http://phys.org/news319194844.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 13 May 2014 11:00:02 EDTnews319194844Common junction in pipes can trap bubbles and particles even if materials are flowing freely(Phys.org) —In a discovery that could eventually have implications for both health and industrial safety, researchers at Princeton University have found that common T-junction intersections in pipes can trap bubbles and other particles even if the materials appear to be flowing freely.http://phys.org/news317981035.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 29 Apr 2014 09:04:07 EDTnews317981035What makes flying snakes such gifted gliders?Animal flight behavior is an exciting frontier for engineers to both apply knowledge of aerodynamics and to learn from nature's solutions to operating in the air. Flying snakes are particularly intriguing to researchers because they lack wings or any other features that remotely resemble flight apparatus.http://phys.org/news313154717.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 04 Mar 2014 11:25:26 EDTnews313154717Two-dimensional crystalline structure assembled from outer shells of a virus(Phys.org) —From steel beams to plastic Lego bricks, building blocks come in many materials and all sizes. Today, science has opened the way to manufacturing at the nanoscale with biological materials. Potential applications range from medicine to optoelectronic devices.http://phys.org/news312191770.html
Physics - Soft MatterFri, 21 Feb 2014 08:20:01 EDTnews312191770Team models sudden thickening of complex fluids(Phys.org)—A new model by a team of researchers with The City College of New York's Benjamin Levich Institute may shed new understanding on the phenomenon known as discontinuous shear thickening (DST), in which the resistance to stirring takes a sudden jump. Easily observed in a 'kitchen experiment' by mixing together equal amounts of cornstarch and water, DST occurs because concentrated suspensions of hard particles in a liquid respond differently than normal fluids to shear forces.http://phys.org/news309096311.html
Physics - Soft MatterThu, 16 Jan 2014 12:05:37 EDTnews309096311Morphing composite material has mighty potential (w/ Video)(Phys.org) —Heating a sheet of plastic may not bring it to life – but it sure looks like it does in new experiments at Rice University.http://phys.org/news305801355.html
Physics - Soft MatterMon, 09 Dec 2013 08:49:34 EDTnews305801355Self-steering particles go with the flowMIT chemical engineers have designed tiny particles that can "steer" themselves along preprogrammed trajectories and align themselves to flow through the center of a microchannel, making it possible to control the particles' flow through microfluidic devices without applying any external forces.http://phys.org/news303369362.html
Physics - Soft MatterMon, 11 Nov 2013 05:16:18 EDTnews303369362University physicists study urine splash-back and offer best tactics for men (w/ Video)(Phys.org) —A team of four physicists at Brigham Young University (calling themselves "wizz-kids") has been studying the physics properties of urine splash-back in a urinal-like environment. Their mission was to uncover the fluid dynamics involved in male peeing and to hopefully discern which approach leads to the least amount of splash-back (and less mess). They will be presenting their results at the American Physical Society Meeting later this month.http://phys.org/news303033030.html
Physics - Soft MatterThu, 07 Nov 2013 08:00:01 EDTnews303033030How the kettle got its whistle(Phys.org) —Researchers have finally worked out where the noise that makes kettles whistle actually comes from – a problem which has puzzled scientists for more than 100 years.http://phys.org/news301898057.html
Physics - Soft MatterFri, 25 Oct 2013 05:34:33 EDTnews301898057Clues to foam formation could help find oilBlowing bubbles in the backyard is one thing and quite another when searching for oil. That distinction is at the root of new research by Rice University scientists who describe in greater detail than ever precisely how those bubbles form, evolve and act.http://phys.org/news300460197.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 08 Oct 2013 14:10:36 EDTnews300460197Strange behavior of bouncing drops demonstrates pilot-wave dynamics in action (w/ Video)A research team led by Yves Couder at the Université Paris Diderot recently discovered that it's possible to make a tiny fluid droplet levitate on the surface of a vibrating bath, walking or bouncing across, propelled by its own wave field. Surprisingly, these walking droplets exhibit certain features previously thought to be exclusive to the microscopic quantum realm.http://phys.org/news299853129.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 01 Oct 2013 13:32:30 EDTnews299853129Chasing the black holes of the oceanAccording to researchers from ETH Zurich and the University of Miami, some of the largest ocean eddies on Earth are mathematically equivalent to the mysterious black holes of space. These eddies are so tightly shielded by circular water paths that nothing caught up in them escapes.http://phys.org/news299142106.html
Physics - Soft MatterMon, 23 Sep 2013 08:02:00 EDTnews299142106Engineers gain insight into turbulence formation and evolution in fluidsin the patterns that natural gas makes as it swirls through a transcontinental pipeline or in the drag that occurs as a plane soars through the sky. Reducing such turbulence on say, an airplane wing, would cut down on the amount of power the plane has to put out just to get through the air, thereby saving fuel. But in order to reduce turbulence—a very complicated phenomenon—you need to understand it, a task that has proven to be quite a challenge.http://phys.org/news294510340.html
Physics - Soft MatterWed, 31 Jul 2013 17:25:52 EDTnews294510340Soft matter offers new ways to study how ordered materials arrange themselvesA fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics and materials.http://phys.org/news288354259.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 21 May 2013 11:24:27 EDTnews288354259Bubble mattress reduces drag in fluidic chipResearchers at the University of Twente's MESA+ research institute have given the first demonstration of how the drag exerted on liquids flowing through tiny "fluidic chips" is affected by the introduction of diminutive gas bubbles. Armed with this knowledge, scientists can directly manipulate flow resistance in a variety of applications involving combinations of liquids and gas bubbles. This could be useful in areas ranging from the manufacture of fizzy drinks to the development of artificial lungs.http://phys.org/news287741273.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 14 May 2013 09:08:26 EDTnews287741273Researchers measure Brazil nut effect in reduced gravity(Phys.org) —A combined team of researchers from the Technical University of Braunschweig in Germany and Kobe University in Japan has determined that the Brazil nut effect is less pronounced as gravity is reduced. The team describes tests they undertook both in the lab and as part of a simulated reduced gravity environment aboard an airplane in their paper they've uploaded to the preprint server arXiv, and the results they found after analyzing their observations.http://phys.org/news284720534.html
Physics - Soft MatterTue, 09 Apr 2013 10:02:43 EDTnews284720534Engineers explain physics of fluids some 100 years after original discoverySunghwan Jung is a fan of the 19th Century born John William Strutt, 3rd, also known as Lord Baron Rayleigh. An English physicist, Rayleigh, along with William Ramsay, discovered the gas argon, an achievement for which he earned the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904.http://phys.org/news283175262.html
Physics - Soft MatterFri, 22 Mar 2013 12:48:34 EDTnews283175262Mixing processes could increase the impact of biofuel spills on aquatic environmentsEthanol, a component of biofuel made from plants such as corn, is blended with gas in many parts of the country, but has significantly different fluid properties than pure gasoline. A group of researchers from the University of Michigan wondered how ethanol-based fuels would spread in the event of a large aquatic spill. They found that ethanol-based liquids mix actively with water, very different from how pure gasoline interacts with water and potentially more dangerous to aquatic life.http://phys.org/news272293486.html
Physics - Soft MatterFri, 16 Nov 2012 13:04:55 EDTnews272293486Researchers develop printable lasers(Phys.org)—A way of printing lasers using everyday inkjet technology has been created by scientists. The development has a wide range of possible applications, ranging from biomedical testing to laser arrays for displays.http://phys.org/news267254609.html
Physics - Soft MatterWed, 19 Sep 2012 06:23:38 EDTnews267254609Microswimmers: Micron-scale swimming robots could deliver drugs, carry cargo using simple motion(Phys.org) -- When you&#146;re just a few microns long, swimming can be difficult. At that size scale, the viscosity of water is more like that of honey, and momentum can&#146;t be relied upon to maintain forward motion.http://phys.org/news263490502.html
Physics - Soft MatterMon, 06 Aug 2012 16:48:38 EDTnews263490502Engineers model the threat of avalanches(Phys.org) -- Snow avalanches, a real threat in countries from Switzerland to Afghanistan, are fundamentally a physics problem: What are the physical laws that govern how they start, grow and move, and can theoretical modeling help predict them?http://phys.org/news262412351.html
Physics - Soft MatterWed, 25 Jul 2012 05:19:17 EDTnews262412351Objects moving in a stream create constructive wakes, study finds(Phys.org) -- From driftwood traveling down a river to a blood cell flowing through your artery, objects moving in a stream of fluid are mostly thought to passively go with the flow but not disturb it in controllable ways.&#160;http://phys.org/news261804483.html
Physics - Soft MatterWed, 18 Jul 2012 04:28:14 EDTnews261804483How to make a splash(Phys.org) -- A team of physicists has used the high-energy x-rays of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory to penetrate the everyday mystery of a splash, revealing previously hidden structures and dynamics.http://phys.org/news255772602.html
Physics - Soft MatterWed, 09 May 2012 08:56:59 EDTnews255772602Fabrication method can affect the use of block copolymer thin filmsA new study by a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicates that thin polymer films can have different properties depending on the method by which they are made. The results suggest that deeper work is necessary to explore the best way of creating these films, which are used in applications ranging from high-tech mirrors to computer memory devices.http://phys.org/news255252882.html
Physics - Soft MatterThu, 03 May 2012 09:20:01 EDTnews255252882Images capture split personality of dense suspensionsStir lots of small particles into water, and the resulting thick mixture appears highly viscous. When this dense suspension slips through a nozzle and forms a droplet, however, its behavior momentarily reveals a decidedly non-viscous side. University of Chicago physicists recorded this surprising behavior in laboratory experiments using high-speed photography that can capture action taking place in one hundred-thousandths of a second or less.http://phys.org/news252353064.html
Physics - Soft MatterFri, 30 Mar 2012 19:04:47 EDTnews252353064